Lucien Muratore
Encyclopedia
Lucien Muratore was a French actor and operatic tenor
, particularly associated with the French repertory.
, first as a cornist, and later as an actor. He made his debut at the Odéon
theatre in Paris, where he played opposite such actresses as Sarah Bernhardt
and Réjane. He then studied at the Paris Music Conservatory, and made his operatic debut in 1902, at the Opéra-Comique
, creating the King in Reynaldo Hahn
's La carmélite.
He made his debut at La Monnaie
in 1904, as Werther
, and the following year at the Palais Garnier
, as Renaud in Lully
's Armide
.
He created several Massenet
operas such as Ariane
and Bacchus
, at the Opéra, and Roma
, in Monte Carlo. He also took part in the creation of La Catalane by Le Borne, Monna Vanna
by Henry Février
, Déjanire
by Camille Saint-Saëns
, and Pénélope by Gabriel Fauré
.
He became principal French tenor with the Boston Opera Company
, the Chicago Grand Opera Company
(1913-1914), the Chicago Opera Association
(1915-1921), and the Chicago Civic Opera
(1922). He also appeared at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires
.
Muratore retired from the stage in 1931. He was married first to soprano Marguerite Bériza
, and later to soprano Lina Cavalieri
, with whom he appeared in a silent movie, Manon Lescaut, in 1914.
In 1944 Muratore was for a few weeks Director of the Opéra-Comique
but was removed on the Liberation of Paris.
His art of singing was at times almost overshadowed by his immense talent as an actor and elegance on stage.
His students included Kenneth Neate
, to whom he gave some of his own costumes for Don José (Bizet
's Carmen
).
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
, particularly associated with the French repertory.
Life and career
Lucien Muratore was born and trained in MarseilleMarseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
, first as a cornist, and later as an actor. He made his debut at the Odéon
Odéon
The Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe is one of France's six national theatres.It is located at 2 rue Corneille in the 6th arrondissement of Paris on the left bank of the Seine, next to the Luxembourg Garden...
theatre in Paris, where he played opposite such actresses as Sarah Bernhardt
Sarah Bernhardt
Sarah Bernhardt was a French stage and early film actress, and has been referred to as "the most famous actress the world has ever known". Bernhardt made her fame on the stages of France in the 1870s, and was soon in demand in Europe and the Americas...
and Réjane. He then studied at the Paris Music Conservatory, and made his operatic debut in 1902, at the Opéra-Comique
Opéra-Comique
The Opéra-Comique is a Parisian opera company, which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with, and for a time took the name of its chief rival the Comédie-Italienne at the Hôtel de Bourgogne, and was also called the...
, creating the King in Reynaldo Hahn
Reynaldo Hahn
Reynaldo Hahn was a Venezuelan, naturalised French, composer, conductor, music critic and diarist. Best known as a composer of songs, he wrote in the French classical tradition of the mélodie....
's La carmélite.
He made his debut at La Monnaie
La Monnaie
Le Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie , or the Koninklijke Muntschouwburg is a theatre in Brussels, Belgium....
in 1904, as Werther
Werther
Werther is an opera in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Édouard Blau, Paul Milliet and Georges Hartmann based on the German epistolary novel The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe....
, and the following year at the Palais Garnier
Palais Garnier
The Palais Garnier, , is an elegant 1,979-seat opera house, which was built from 1861 to 1875 for the Paris Opera. It was originally called the Salle des Capucines because of its location on the Boulevard des Capucines in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, but soon became known as the Palais Garnier...
, as Renaud in Lully
Jean-Baptiste Lully
Jean-Baptiste de Lully was an Italian-born French composer who spent most of his life working in the court of Louis XIV of France. He is considered the chief master of the French Baroque style. Lully disavowed any Italian influence in French music of the period. He became a French subject in...
's Armide
Armide (Lully)
Armide is an opera by Jean-Baptiste Lully. The libretto was written by Philippe Quinault, based on Torquato Tasso's La Gerusalemme liberata .Critics in the 18th century regarded Armide as Lully's masterpiece...
.
He created several Massenet
Jules Massenet
Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet was a French composer best known for his operas. His compositions were very popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and he ranks as one of the greatest melodists of his era. Soon after his death, Massenet's style went out of fashion, and many of his operas...
operas such as Ariane
Ariane (Massenet)
Ariane is an opera in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Catulle Mendès after Greek mythology . It was first performed at the Palais Garnier in Paris on October 31, 1906, with Lucienne Bréval in the title role.-History:...
and Bacchus
Bacchus (opera)
Bacchus is an opera in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Catulle Mendès after Greek mythology. It was first performed at the Palais Garnier in Paris on May 5, 1909....
, at the Opéra, and Roma
Roma (opera)
Roma is an opera in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Cain based on the play Rome vaincue by Alexandre Parodi. It was first performed at the Opéra in Monte Carlo on February 17, 1912....
, in Monte Carlo. He also took part in the creation of La Catalane by Le Borne, Monna Vanna
Monna Vanna (Février)
Monna Vanna is a drame lyrique or opera in four acts by composer Henry Février. The opera's French libretto is by playwright Maurice Maeterlinck and is based on his play of the same name. The opera premiered on 13 January 1909 at the Académie Nationale de Musique in Paris.- Roles :-External links:**...
by Henry Février
Henry Février
Henry Février was a French composer.-Biography:Henry Février studied at the Paris Conservatoire where his teachers included Jules Massenet and Gabriel Fauré. He also took private lessons with André Messager...
, Déjanire
Déjanire
Déjanire is an opera in 4 acts composed by Camille Saint-Saëns to a libretto in French by Louis Gallet and Camille Saint-Saëns. The last of Saint-Saëns' operas, it premiered on 14 March 1911 at the Théâtre de Monte-Carlo...
by Camille Saint-Saëns
Camille Saint-Saëns
Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns was a French Late-Romantic composer, organist, conductor, and pianist. He is known especially for The Carnival of the Animals, Danse macabre, Samson and Delilah, Piano Concerto No. 2, Cello Concerto No. 1, Havanaise, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, and his Symphony...
, and Pénélope by Gabriel Fauré
Gabriel Fauré
Gabriel Urbain Fauré was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th century composers...
.
He became principal French tenor with the Boston Opera Company
Boston Opera Company
The Boston Opera Company was an American opera company located in Boston, Massachusetts that was active from 1909 to 1915.-History:The company was founded in 1908 by Bostonian millionaire Eben Dyer Jordan, Jr. and impresario Henry Russell...
, the Chicago Grand Opera Company
Chicago Grand Opera Company
Two grand opera companies in Chicago have gone by the name Chicago Grand Opera CompanyThe first Chicago Grand Opera Company produced four seasons of opera in Chicago’s Auditorium Theater from the Fall of 1910 through November 1915. It was the first resident Chicago opera company...
(1913-1914), the Chicago Opera Association
Chicago Opera Association
The Chicago Opera Association was a company that produced seven seasons of grand opera in Chicago’s Auditorium Theater from 1915 to 1921. The founding artistic director and principal conductor was Cleofonte Campanini, while the general manager and chief underwriter was Harold F. McCormick...
(1915-1921), and the Chicago Civic Opera
Chicago Civic Opera
The Civic Opera Company was a Chicago company that produced seven seasons of grand opera in the Auditorium Theater from 1922 to 1928, and three seasons at its own Civic Opera House from 1929 to 1931 before falling victim to financial difficulties brought on in part by the Great Depression.-...
(1922). He also appeared at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
.
Muratore retired from the stage in 1931. He was married first to soprano Marguerite Bériza
Marguerite Bériza
Marguerite Bériza was a French opera singer who had an active international career during the first half of the 20th century. She began her career as a mezzo-soprano at the Opéra-Comique in 1900; ultimately transitioning into the leading soprano repertoire at that theatre in 1912...
, and later to soprano Lina Cavalieri
Lina Cavalieri
Lina Cavalieri was an Italian operatic soprano and diseuse known for her grace and beauty.-Biography:...
, with whom he appeared in a silent movie, Manon Lescaut, in 1914.
In 1944 Muratore was for a few weeks Director of the Opéra-Comique
Opéra-Comique
The Opéra-Comique is a Parisian opera company, which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with, and for a time took the name of its chief rival the Comédie-Italienne at the Hôtel de Bourgogne, and was also called the...
but was removed on the Liberation of Paris.
His art of singing was at times almost overshadowed by his immense talent as an actor and elegance on stage.
His students included Kenneth Neate
Kenneth Neate
Kenneth Neate was a renowned Australian operatic and concert tenor, opera producer and singing teacher. He was a regular artist in Wagnerian opera at Bayreuth, and he was noted as a dramatic tenor in German, French, and Italian repertoire in opera houses in England, France, Italy, Austria,...
, to whom he gave some of his own costumes for Don José (Bizet
Georges Bizet
Georges Bizet formally Alexandre César Léopold Bizet, was a French composer, mainly of operas. In a career cut short by his early death, he achieved few successes before his final work, Carmen, became one of the most popular and frequently performed works in the entire opera repertory.During a...
's Carmen
Carmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
).
Sources
- Roland Mancini and Jean-Jacques Rouveroux, (orig. H. Rosenthal and J. Warrack, French edition), Guide de l’opéra, Les indispensables de la musique (Fayard, 1995). ISBN 2-213-01563-6